Misunderstanding?
by Eve Nightingale
Summary: Maria Ross is accused of sexually assulting a certain young alchemist. Will the accusations prove to be false? Her job is on the line! -Edited for quality-
1. Chapter 1 Accusation

I wrote this story a long time ago; in fact, it was one of my first. Now that brotherhood is finished...(spoiler)...

I actually saw the part where they framed Maria for the murder of Hughes. I find it funny that we both kind of had the same idea. Geez, poor Maria, she's the series punching bag.

(end spoiler)

I touched this one up a little after I got another review out of the blue. :P  
>Such bad grammar! DX But it's okay now.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 1: Accusation<strong>_

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><p>Monday mornings were never any good, everyone was tired. They went from enjoying their weekend, to being forced into the same old stuffy uniforms(which was never pleasant). Another five days of being stuck behind a desk and they would be free again; the vicious cycle never stopped. At least everyone had the pay-week weekend to look forward to. For now, they were stuck as colonel's, lieutenants', and sergeant.<p>

Most of the soldiers weren't particularly lively on this day, like Sergeant Denny Brosh. He was not up to par, on that day especially. The weekend was far more taxing than usual. It wasn't from a hangover, Denny felt that would have been an improvement. It was Second Lieutenant Maria Ross; the woman he absolutely adored. On Saturday, he saw her with another man. She entered a room in the military dorm and left nearly an hour later. He suspected a one night stand and was inevitably he was shattered, heartbroken even. He bit back tears of frustration as he bit on to a handkerchief while in the cold, cold halls of the nearly abandoned building.

If that wasn't tops, he was familiar with the man she was seen with, quite familiar. '

_Why did she pick someone so young?_' he thought, groaning to himself.

Mustang's door opened in enough time to hear the belligerent groan. "Something wrong?" he asked between sips from what appeared to be a rather large cup of coffee. Denny stuttered, not knowing if personal issues should be brought up at work. "What seems to be the trouble, Sargent?" Mustang asked, now looking rather interested in Denny's problems.

Denny looked up at him and then shook his head. "Huh? Nothing of interest sir."

Roy eyed the potted plant conveniently placed at the side of the door. Slyly checking down the hall, to make sure no one was looking, he dumped the cold coffee into the ugly plant. He extended the invitation to Denny to enter his office. "I can't stand working with people who are depressed, it's really draining. Let's see what we can do." Having information, no matter how trivial, was valuable to him.

He knew Mustang rather well and could tell he was only fishing for gossip. But Denny didn't care anymore, he needed to vent. "Unless you can turn back time, there's not much anyone can do," he said and hung his head in despair.

Mustang led him through the door to his office. The staff was hard at work on the first day of the week, as always. It seemed to be more of Riza's doing than Roy's. Everyone but Havoc was in good spirits that morning. Havoc had a mean scowl on his face with his arms tightly folded over his chest. His cigarette was sturdy, clenched between his canines. Maybe he was having girl trouble as well; Roy did have a bad habit of stepping on people's toes in that way.

The colonel sat back in his chair. He grabbed a nearby pen and began twirling it between his fingers. "Alright, let's hear it."

"I saw Maria with another guy on Saturday; I'm positive they were together that night. I really thought I had a chance too," he sighed. "I know she's a grown woman who can make he own choices, but the guy who she was with was so much younger than her."

Havoc cracked his knuckles, "Learn to deal with it!" he demanded while pounded his fist on the table. "We all have our troubles with women; they 'like you', they 'sort-of like you', they'll 'only like you if you quit smoking'. It's the only bad habit I have and I'm perfect in all other aspects!" His voice continually got louder whilst approaching the end of his sentence. "No matter what you do, the only thing she wants is the thing you can't do! AHH!" Havoc grabbed the sides of his desk and jostled around violently on the spot. He laid his elbows down on his desk and covered his head with his hands. "I want to go home," he sulked, like a child.

Roy rolled his eyes with a mild look of 'not this again'. Reluctantly he reached into his desk and pulled out a little rubber balloon filled with sand rather than air. "Havoc!" he said and tossed it to the disgruntled member of his staff.

He squeezed the poor little stress ball tightly, "Its not working," he said and squeezed harder until it bubbled out from between his fingers. Upon doing so he calmed down immediately."...Squeeze, huh," he said and chuckled, "This does work...I wonder if there's a patent on this kind of thing." He continued to squeeze and mutter to himself.

Denny watched Havoc torture the little ball and wondered if it would ease his own troubles. "Can I try?" he asked and reached out a hand.

Havoc shook his head, "No can do," and turned sideways in his chair.

"

Don't mind him," Roy coaxed, "He's trying to quit smoking and it's been this," he referenced Havoc mindlessly playing with the ball, "since Saturday night. Everyone has their tiffs with women, there's no reason to be depressed for days on end. You've got to move on." Roy was handed a new coffee from his right hand lieutenant, "Thank you."

Sergeant Brosh was still saddened by what he saw on Saturday. "I guess it wouldn't have bothered me so much if I didn't know the guy."

Roy was intrigued, you could tell from his cocked eyebrow, "Knew him, you say...who?"

"Uhh, she may be upset if I said anything. I don't know if anyone was suppose to know." Denny battled it over in his mind.

"Nonsense, she's not here, I doubt she'll care." Mustang once again coaxed him but paused, "He's not here...is he?" he said as he sipped his new cup of coffee.

"...It was Edward," he blurted.

Roy nearly spat his coffee halfway across the room, Riza blocked herself with a file. "What!" they all exclaimed.

"...what..." Havoc said with a hollow voice, a small popping noise followed. Everyone turned their attention to Havoc. He had clenched his fist so tightly the stress ball broke. "I can't take it!" He stood up from his chair and knocked it over. "Even the kid's getting laid! It's not bloody fair! I hate you all! I'm going home!" With that said he stormed out of the room brushing his hand off all the way out, trailing little bits of sand along the way.

Roy leaned forward at his desk and suspended a weary chin across his hands, "I suppose that was a reasonable reaction. Are you sure you saw Edward?" The colonel received a 'nod' for his question, "Unexpected," he said while everyone sat in silence. No one would have expected something like this from Maria.

"You're certain?" Falman questioned. He always found Ed to be a nice boy, foul tempered, but nothing like this.

"I saw her going back to his room the night of banquette. His arm wrapped around her waist, talking and laughing; what else could it have been?" He began to get all choked up, "When I saw her leave she was out of breath, sweating, tucking her shirt in, fixing her hair, her coat was off and all signs point to one thing," he spoke rapidly. The handkerchief was now in two pieces, he had pulled it from betwixt his teeth with an unreasonable amount of force; shockingly he broke no teeth. "I really thought I had a chance too!"

"Such detail. This must have hit you pretty hard." Roy sipped his coffee again. The coffee the new girl didn't taste good, so he was forced to get his own. He didn't have the heart to tell her it tasted lit swill, he was hoping to 'bed' her someday. Riza's coffee was delicious but he knew he would never get it

_first thing_ in the morning.

Denny nodded then shrugged, "I always thought that Edward was with that little blond girl, Winry."

"As did I..." Roy stood up and stared out his window. "Looks like I'm going to have to speak with Mr. Elric. Don't worry; I won't mention your name Brosh." Roy glared off into the distance in his usual manner. "I'll get the truth out of him. Leave it to me."

Denny sighed and smiled, "I really hope this is just one big misunderstanding. Thank you sir." He saluted and took his leave. It was nice of Roy to go out of his way for a mere personal matter. Denny feared the worst '

_Maybe I should have told him it was a hangover, maybe he would have given me the coffee he ditched. This sucks. A lot._' He continued on down the hallway and away from the office he was interrogated in.

Hawkeye scanned the room; everyone seemed to be deep in thought. "We're...going on the assumption his story is true?" She had her arms folded around some papers and files, readying them for the inevitable. "This doesn't seem characteristic of the Fullmetal Alchemist, sir."

Roy took a deep breath, "No...Hawkeye, you know where Second lieutenant Ross was on Saturday evening."

Hawkeye thought to herself for a moment. "We were together nearly the whole night. I recall her mentioning she needed to leave quickly. Edward wanted a ride home, he wasn't feeling well. She took him back to the dorm and was back within an hour." There was a pause, "...I think this is something different."

Roy's expression changed to serious, "Maria's placed away from the banquette long enough to assault Edward. We very well could be dealing with statutory rape."

Riza's eyes widened. "...That's not plausible. But in any case, I'll see if I can find any other information. Still, I don't think that she would do something like that."

Breda shrugged. "The stories match up then. Sergeant Brosh saw them go into his room together and she left an hour later."

Fuery straightened his glasses. "We should really talk to Edward if we really want to start accusing people of such a grizzly offense," a judgment of 'statutory rape' meant she would lose her position and get slapped with a fine.

"Good,"Roy nodded, "Riza, how was Maria acting when she returned to the Banquette? I recall her driving you and a few others home."

Riza blushed, "Oh...that's how I got home," she stated in a way that showed she had too much of a 'good time' that evening to recall anything.

He sighed, "Hmm...we'll just have to rely on what Edward has to say I guess."

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><p>There you have it, a polished first chapter. :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2 Questioning

Second chapter is up and running! Polished up like the first. :D

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 2: Questioning<strong>_

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><p>"Can I talk to you in my office, Edward?" Roy said as he casually leaned out of his office.<p>

Ed froze and turned his gaze over to Al. His brother rolled his eyes and shrugged. They both knew the lecture that was going to be bestowed upon them.

Roy held up a hand, "If you don't mind Alphonse, I'd like to have a word with Edward alone please," he said.

Somewhat confused, but unusually relieved, Al obliged; he had a feeling he knew why Mustang was talking to his brother. "I'll meet you in the front hall," he said as he left, not wanting to get caught up in the drama of talking to the colonel.

Ed held his lips tightly together as he entered and took a seat in front of Roy's desk, a place he hated being. Not because he hated getting scolded, but because it was by the colonel. "Yeah?"

"Fun weekend, huh? Did you enjoy the banquette on Saturday?" Four times a year the military held a banquette for its soldiers, one for each season. It kept spirits high and broke the usual monotony that was 'paperwork in times of peace' at central headquarters.

Edward never attended any of the banquettes before. He and Alphonse traveled around too much to bother showing up when they happened; besides, they were too young to go. This was the first time they actually attended because Alphonse being back in his original body was enough of a reason to celebrate. It was also the first time Ed got to fully enjoy himself and not feel guilty about leaving Al out. "Yeah, it was pretty good," he said with his best face.

Had Roy been unfamiliar with Fullmetal's fronts, he may have bought it, "Why did you leave early?"

"I had something at the buffet that didn't agree with me. I went home around one," this time his front was true.

Roy folded his hands as he watched Ed squirm in his seat, "Something doesn't add up, why are you acting so nervous?"

"Nervous? Why would I be?" he said, neglecting to notice he didn't hide his 'tells'.

"Riza said that you asked for a ride."

He nodded, "I felt like garbage, I didn't want to walk."

Mustang leaned forward "Maria took you?"

Ed swallowed hard, "Yeah-she made sure I made it to my room," he laughed a little, "I got sick earlier that night and was kind of weak in the knees, well, knee," he said and gave his automail a tap.

"She helped you to your room?" he probed.

"She did, yeah. That was the end of _my_ night."

Roy sat in awe of the bullshit. How dare Ed think he could pull one over on the Flame Alchemist, "How thoughtful. That doesn't explain why she stayed with you for an hour afterward."

Edward was then confused for a moment, "I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. I don't know why she would have stuck around." He stood up, "Can I go now, I want to get breakfast before it's over."

Roy nodded and waved him out with his hand. "If your not telling me something that I need to hear Fullmetal, you better tell me now," he pointed two fingers at Ed and then linked them back to his eyes, "You get nothing past me."

"Was that a statement, or a request?" Ed cockily asked.

"Both," he said with an equally smarmy tone.

Ed sighed, "There's nothing..." he turned to leave. After a second of silence Roy gave him the go ahead to leave and he did just that. He closed the door behind him, then b-line to find Al again; he was in the cafeteria.

Al looked at Edward as they waited in line, "Was it about...?" he said in a meek tone.

"Yes," he heaved a sigh, "He wanted to know what I was doing on Saturday."

Al raised an eyebrow. "...did he find out?"

With a shake of his head he smirked, "Nope. Maria would get in a lot of trouble if he knew. He bought my story, I think, so we're in the clear. I'm not used to lying on the spot like that though."

Al seemed skeptical, "I don't know; I feel like they're going to drag this one out," he said as he grabbed two tea biscuits.

Ed nonchalantly pushed his tray ahead and adopted a smug tone, "I doubt it. This is a first offense though, I'm sure they won't be too brutal about the whole thing...yeah...so long as I promise to 'never do it again'," he said in a rehearsed voice, "They'll let it slide."

"As long as Lieutenant Ross keeps her word," Al said. Ed was a bit shaken by his brother's suggestion, but decided to forget about the whole thing and just let it blow over.

And blow over, it did not. Back in Mustang's office, he was grilling Maria. "What did you do when you left with Edward?"

Maria thought back to Saturday. Roy was making her nervous with his causal tone on a potentially serious matter, "Well," she began, "I was supposed to drive everyone that night, I didn't drink anything if that's what you're concerned about," she assumed someone saw her driving and assumed she was doing so under the influence.

Roy shook his head and said, "I want to know what you were doing in Edward's room at one in the morning. Someone reported that you two went in and you emerged an hour later."

Maria became flustered, "What?" she said in utter shock, "What in the world are you suggesting!" Second Lieutenant Ross seemed quite upset with the comment and went on the defensive. "Edward wasn't feeling well, so I stayed with him till he fell asleep."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "He told me he fell asleep right away."

Maria was at a loss for words. She pressed her lips together tightly and then relaxed them and spoke, "That's something you'll have to take up with Edward. Nothing happened, I swear on it."

Roy shook his head. "I wish I could believe that. When I asked Edward about it he got nervous and wouldn't say much of anything. Now, I've known Fullmetal for a while, he's never been known to act nervous like that unless he was hiding something."

She gave him a glare. "Nothing happened sir. He's only a child."

Mustang nodded. "I agree...which is why I'm looking so deeply into the matter. You can go for now, but if I find out anything to the contrary of what you've told me, your job will be on the line." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, "Don't leave headquarters until I say so, alright?" Mustang gave his order.

Maria saluted him spitefully. "Freely and gladly," she said to left the office, sure to not slam the door on her way out.

'_Again? I must be cursed_!' That being said and done she left the room and took off down the hall in a walking sprint to find Edward. '_He got his story mixed up, damn_.' After a few minutes of searching she finally ran into both brothers.

The two boys looked at her face and immediately knew that something was wrong. Maria pulled them into one of the vacant conference rooms and shut the door. "Alright, Mustang seems to think that I spent the night with you on Saturday." Ed seemed puzzled. "Well you did...didn't you?"

Lieutenant Ross shook her head. "Not like that...like..." she attempted to make a facial gesture insinuating what the colonel was insinuating. "He the way he thinks it happened...is bad. He thinks that we had...relations of a non-consensual manner." She watched Ed pause to cognitively run the sentence through his brain.

Al chimed in "You mean he thinks that you took advantage of brother?" he said, unsure if he knew what she meant.

Maria nodded, "Yes! Now he's grilling me. Plus, you messed up the story!"

Ed was stunned by the accusation, "Wait, what?"

"On top of that, my job is on the line here. I need an alibi," she said as she rubbed a bead of sweat from her brow.

Ed shook his head. "Woah, woah-this is serious! You don't need to cover for me if your job is on the line. I'll just tell them."

Maria waved a hand, "You'll get in trouble with Mustang if you do that. I'll keep my word, don't worry. Give me some time."

Ed crossed his arms, "You've done too much already, don't think this'll just blow over. Once the colonel catches wind of gossip he's like a bloodhound of the military."

Al nodded."Yeah, and it's brother's fault for doing this in the first place. You shouldn't have to take the fall."

Ed glared at his little brother, "If I go down, you're coming with me."

Al sighed; he was hoping his brother wouldn't have said that. "It figures," Al said and folded his arms.

The group rounded the corner only to run into Mustang as he was happening by; he stopped in his tracks. "What luck. I was just setting out to look for you three. I think I know how to shed some light on this. If you don't mind," Roy insistently showed them down the hall.

The hall led the stairs, leading to his office, leading to a chair which very well could have led to a punch in the face. "Now what? I don't even get through a meal without you breathing down my neck," Ed said as he tried to annoy the colonel out of the interrogation."

You're a soldier, you'll do as instructed. Sit," and they did.

Ed exchanged a worried glance with Maria. Upon getting situated, the questions began. They sat down amidst all of Mustang's crew, Falman, Feury, Breda and Hawkeye; including Lieutenant Havoc who looked rather sour, a toothpick adorn his lips. "Listen Mustang, you're blowing this way out of proportion." Ed stated in a way that made Roy cross his arms.

"Saturday, 1:50 am, noises emitted from Edward's room that disturbed the neighbour. The noises were described as a 'fight' or 'struggle'. Can you explain? Edward said he went to sleep right when he got to his room; who could have been making a 'struggling' noise?" The room fell silent, everyone stared with anticipation. Mustang placed a reassuring hand on Edwards shoulder. "You really don't have to cover for anyone here Ed."

Ed sighed in defeat and brushed Mustang's hand away. "Actually, I'm not covering for her; it's really the other way around," he said rather sheepishly.

"Hmm?" Roy, along with everyone else in the room, seemed confused.

"You seem to think that we..." he couldn't bring himself to say it, "...had relations with Maria on Saturday, and now she's trying to cover it...well," he was embarrassed enough to turn a bright shade of red, "She's...actually covering for me. She did spend some time in my room, but nothing happened."

They all stared on with anticipation, "Go on..." Mustang antagonized."

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><p>You see," he paused and looked at all the accusing eyes locked on him and lieutenant Ross. Ed knew he had to tell the truth in this situation; being a good liar means knowing when to quit. "I..."<p> 


End file.
